‘Environmental’ Category

Wind Turbine

Photo Credit: Karl Jansen

This photo shows a modern horizontal axis wind turbine. A wind turbine is a device that converts energy from wind to electricity. As the wind hits the blades of the wind turbine, it causes them to spin around a central pivot. This rotational energy is converted into electricity using magnets.

Lake Mead Waterline

Photo Credit: Jessie Benaglio

You can see the varying water line on the rock near the Hoover Dam. The original water line is where the water started for the formation of Lake Mead while the Hoover Dam was being built. The Colorado river had to be re-routed for the construction of the Hoover Dam, originally known as Boulder Dam because of its location near Boulder City. Other dams were built to hold the water in for Lake Mead, which is the largest man made lake in the United States. The water level has not been as high as the water line because of the droughts since 1953. The lake draws most of its water from the snow melt from Colorado, Wyoming, and the Utah Rocky Mountains.

Windmill

Photo Credit: Karl Jansen

This is Farris Windmill; it was built in the mid-1600s. Windmills like this one were common and were used to complete tasks such as grinding corn. A windmill is a machine that converts energy from the wind into usable mechanical power. The sails on the windmill catch the wind force as the wind blows, causing a rotation. That rotation is transferred down a shaft where it is used. Windmills are similar to Wind Turbines, which generate electricity rather than mechanical power.

Green Roof

Photo Credit: Karl Jansen

This is a green roof. And “green” does not describe the color. A green roof is simply a roof that allows for a more natural impact on the environment. This usually includes the use of earth and plants to help reduce the amount of runoff created by the new structure. Green roofs require extra structural support due to their increased dead weight loading relative to a standard roof design. As we learn more and more about our impact on the environment, and look for ways to reduce that impact, look for more of these to pop up all around our cities.

Revetment

Photo Credit: Karl Jansen

Revetments, riprap, large rocks… they all mean the same thing in this case. These rocks placed along the side of a river are formally known as revetments. Their purpose is to absorb energy from the water rushing by. By absorbing the passing water’s energy, they do their job to prevent erosion of the river bank. Riprap is usually the term used for rocks placed where runoff from a large storm might cause environmental impact problems like erosion.

Nuclear Cooling Tower

Photo Credit: Jessie Benaglio

This is one of 2 cooling towers for Fermi 2 Nuclear Power Plant on Lake Erie in Michigan. Fermi 2 is a 1,130-megawatt nuclear power plant owned and operated by Detroit Edison Company, an electric utility that serves 2.1 million customers in Southeastern Michigan. The plant’s cooling system is a “closed system” to prevent thermal or other pollution in Lake Erie. Each tower is 400-foot tall and has the capacity to cool 450,000 gallons of water per minute. The mist seen rising above the cooling towers is clean water vapor, about 8,000 gallons a minute per tower when the plant is in full operation. The black rows on the bottom of the tower show waterfalls of the cooled water that is being recirculated to cool off the steam from the turbines for the water to be used in the reactor.

Exploratory Drill Rig

Photo Credit: Alex Mead

Seen here is a mobile drill rig used to explore the subterranean world for resources such as petroleum and natural gas. Mobile drilling rigs such as this one are very capable of travel and can be found from pole to pole on planet Earth aiding humans in their search for more oil and natural gas to fuel the ever increasing demand of the world population.

Smoke Stack Plumes

Photo Credit: Alex Mead

Seen here is a smoke stack on a building in downtown Grand Rapids, MI. This shot was taken using an extended exposure, which makes the steam rising from the smoke stacks appear to be flowing in an odd manner. Although it is hard to tell from this angle the plume is a looping plume.

Fish Ladder

Photo Credit: Karl Jansen

Pictured here is a fish ladder located at the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks (a.k.a. Ballard Locks) in Seattle, WA. A fish ladder is simply a structure that allows migratory fish to swim upstream or around a barrier placed in the water by humans. In this case, the structures were a dam and some locks. The need for fish ladders was recognized after the placement of barriers in aquatic ecosystems had negative effects on fish populations.